On February 27th, nineteen Cornell Republicans and I began our six-hour-long drive from Ithaca, NY to National Harbor, Maryland, the location of the Conservative Political Action Conference, also known as CPAC. For much of the car ride, I was asking myself many questions about the conference: What will the attendees be like? Is it an expo? Is it appropriate for me to wear a MAGA hat? All I knew going in was that many high-profile guests, like Nigel Farage, the godfather of Brexit, and Candace Owens, the leader of the BLEXIT movement, would be in attendance, rallying conservatives to defeat the Democrats in 2020. Little did I know that I was about to be immersed in a multi-dimensional, conservative universe for the next three days.
The next day, after a five-minute Uber ride with (coincidently) a Turning Point USA member, I arrived at the Gaylord Hotel and Conference Center, where CPAC is held each year. Stepping inside, I felt I was in an entirely different world. There was a noticeable increase in the number of MAGA hats compared to the ones I saw in Ithaca. Back home, while advocating for civic nationalism and the Trump presidency drew intellectual criticism at best, wearing a MAGA hat was effectively verboten. But here, people were unashamed to wear the iconic, red trucker cap with those four words, “Make America Great Again.” I proudly took my MAGA hat and placed it firmly on my head.
The convention hall, or “hub,” was an experience on its own, an intellectual buffet filled with many different conservative organizations. Stalls from the Heritage Foundation and Young Americans for Liberty handed out free reading materials, while Turning Point USA, Project Veritas, and WinRed had some fabulous merchandise. I also had the wonderful opportunity of talking to representatives from organizations, like the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, which empowers students to intelligently defend capitalism and conservatism on campuses. There was even a booth dedicated to conservative outreach abroad in countries such as Japan, Brazil, South Korea, and Australia. Talking with the multiple vendors and representatives, I realized that there were so many ways for us students to engage with both conservative organizations and in the ever-imminent battle against socialism.
The epicenter of CPAC, the Potomac Ballroom had a different type of energy. The high-profile speakers each delivered their pitch on why we needed to defeat socialist candidates, like Bernie Sanders, and elect conservative leaders, like Donald Trump. They addressed a politically and demographically diverse crowd filled with civic nationalists, libertarians, conservatives, and proud Americans. The cheers of “USA, USA!” reflected a general pride in one’s country, which contrasted with the narrative of American shame often promoted by institutions. Too often, we are told that American leaders ought to be ashamed for seizing our Manifest Destiny, fighting for the freedom of the Korean and Vietnamese peoples, and defending the traditional family. Here, in this ballroom, I did not feel ashamed to hold onto these ideals. I had a real and outspoken pride in our common American identity of liberty and prosperity.
Perhaps the most important and impactful part of the conference to me was the theme for 2020: America versus Socialism. In an era when Senator Bernie Sanders proudly identifies as a “democratic socialist,” Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (AOC) champions a plan for social engineering (known as the Green New Deal),” and so-called “anti-fascists” march across the nation to intimidate those who dare oppose their values, it seemed fitting for the American Conservative Union to highlight the imminent information war against socialism. Some Cornell Republicans have family members who experienced firsthand the horrors of socialism and communism. Even some of my liberal friends from Hong Kong have fought against the puppet government controlled indirectly by the Chinese Communist Party. Personally, I had two grandfathers, one a deacon and another an engineer, who fled from North Korea during the Korean War to secure religious and economic freedom, respectively. By highlighting the survivors of socialist regimes, like Dr. Ae-Ran Lee (a North Korean defector) CPAC was able to showcase the promises offered by free, capitalist societies such as the United States. It was speakers such as Dr. Lee who have motivated me and other attendees to gear up for a political fight in 2020.
Far from being a professional networking event or a speaker series, CPAC offered me a full spectrum of conservative viewpoints. For me, CPAC was not just a conference, but also was a period of reflection, as I thought about the tremendous blessings I had to live in a free, democratic society. All put together, CPAC was a rejuvenating and energizing experience, opening my eyes to many wonderful opportunities to learn about and fight for conservatism, and I certainly hope to attend next year.
